This week's theme
Miscellaneous words

This week's words
tenable
casuistry
discrepant
consuetudinary
unavailing

Enjoy A.Word.A.Day?
Here are ways you can support this work:
. Upgrade to premium subscription
. Send a gift subscription
. Become a sponsor
. Buy our books
. Contribute
Thank you!

---

Discuss
Feedback
RSS/XML

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(KAZ-oo-i-stree)

MEANING:

noun: Deceptive or excessively subtle reasoning, especially on moral issues.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin casus (case, fall, chance), past participle of cadere (to fall). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kad- (to fall) that is also the source of cadence, cascade, casualty, cadaver, chance, chute, accident, occident, decay, and recidivism. Earliest documented use: 1712.

USAGE:

"We were once a brutally honest people, but we've become too much given to casuistry."
Gabriel Anda; Scissors, Rock, and Paper Doll; Xlibris; 2011.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: